"Propelled By Appreciation & Honor"

So I just got up from a much needed nap and I was getting ready to work on a final paper as well as try to start study for a final exam. However, I was overwhelmed by such a great sense of love & appreciation I just needed to share it. Last night my home church, Living Hope Christian Center, had its first-ever Leadership Appreciation night & I was so overwhelmed by all the loving words, hilarious skits, wonderful gifts & beautiful presentation that were given to all the leaders from the members of the congregation (you can check it out by following the links, espcially the 1st one, lol: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LW5wOxR7OEg&feature=colike, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lwaky7tz3aE, http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/21024362.

I personally thought my Captain America shield was the best gift of the century and the Nacho Chesse was icing on the cake! But for real, the church and the Local Outreach team blessed me so much with a brand new pair of dress shoes, enough chips & nacho cheese for about 6 months and a number of other amazing gifts! If you know me I don’t usually go shopping much, so the shoes were amazing and all the other gifts just overwhelmed me & my wife. It made me think of how blessed & thankful I am to God for calling me to serve the people of Living Hope in the city of Emeryville, Ca.

Serving in ministry is not always easy, but there is nothing else I would rather do in the world than love Jesus & love people! There are times you get tired, frustrated or feel like you have nothing else to give, but when God’s love for His beautiful bride overwhelms you there is no way you can resist giving your all the way He did. And it is times like last night, times where believers join together to encourage, love, honor and appreciate you that refresh your heart, fuel your fire of service & remind you of how beautiful is the bride of Christ.

Reflecting on last night reminded me of the heart of God & what happens when we honor Him. God’s love for the world & the church is perfect, it never fails. And when we honor Him it just causes such a deeper sense of love to be poured out into our lives.

When we honor our Jesus it really flows right back into our lives.

Matter of fact, honoring was the first commandment with a promise by God! When a father & mother are honored by their children they have no problem sacrificing for them, no problem bending over backwards for them. Matter of fact, it usually compels them to do these things in a more significant ways!

 Honor breeds greater love, greater service, greater sacrifice and longer life! Not only is honoring our parents, leaders & one another a command, but I really believe it is a set up by God. Because those who love like Jesus loves will always allow being honored to lead them to a greater place of love for those they serve.

Honor propels your leaders into a great realm of love & service.

We have often shied away from honoring our leaders because it has only led to bigger egos & justified oppression. But, honor is never meant to simply elevate people to a greater place of status, it is divinely crafted to elevate people to a greater place of love, service & sacrifice. Not only so, but honor is meant to release you into a greater fullness & length of life. It is time we allow honor to be restored to our families & the church. It is time to release our parents, leaders & one another into a greater level of love, service, sacrifice & life through honor!

“Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.”

Romans 12:10